1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to protective body vests for protecting against impact upon a human torso when worn by an athlete during sporting activities. More specifically, the present invention is primarily intended to provide a baseball/softball player added protection from injuries resulting from being hit by a pitched, thrown, hit or tipped ball, being tagged with a ball or colliding with another player. The present invention can also be utilized by athletes engaged in other sporting activities, such as, but not limited to, inline skating, skateboarding and touch football, to provide added protection from injuries resulting from falling to the ground or colliding with another person or player.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years, many vests have been created for the purpose of providing protection to the torso of an athlete engaged in sporting activities. These vests, however, only afforded protection to limited areas of the body. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,080, issued to Culton, discloses a protective apparatus against baseball pitching injuries, which is essentially a partial vest contoured to protect the chest, shoulders, and upper arms of the athlete. Designed primarily for use by baseball/softball umpires, the Protective Apparatus is not conducive to batting, running, throwing, fielding or sliding motions due to the combination of adjustable flexible and non-flexible arm and shoulder straps which secure the apparatus snugly to the arms, shoulders and neck of the wearer, prohibiting the full and easy movement of the arms and neck of an athlete wearing the apparatus, and the protective covering over the upper arms which the apparatus provides. In addition, the degree of protection afforded by the Protective Apparatus from a pitched, hit, thrown or tipped ball a fall, or a collision is limited since 1) there is no protection for the lateral regions and the back of the torso and 2) the amount of protective material in the apparatus is limited since it is designed to fit under the shirt of an umpire. Designed primarily for use by baseball/softball umpires who would wear the apparatus for an extended period of time (i.e., the duration of a baseball/softball game), the Protective Apparatus is not quickly and easily donned due to the number, location and operation (i.e., any required adjustment for fit) of the securing straps and the fact that the wearer has to put on the vest over his/her head while placing one arm at a time through the arm straps. In particular, to achieve the proper fit of the shoulder strap, the wearer would have to reach around his/her lower back with both hands for the most effective operation of the adjusting mechanism, which is located behind the wearer, unless he/she solicited the help of another person.
Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 4,668,202, issued to Scheurer et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,328,398, issued to Aubrey, both disclose protective vests for flotation utilized in water sporting activities. These vests both have a reduced overall flexibility for other sporting activities due to the relative rigidity of the vest materials. Further, both of these water vests utilize an exposed center opening for the user to put on the vest, a deep V-neck design and a plurality of securing belts fastened across the center opening. These water vests are primarily designed for flotation purposes and not for protection against impact from sporting activities. As such, these vests do not provide the necessary protection needed for the whole torso. Though the water vests provide some protection against the impact of the water, the combination of the center opening and deep V-neck design exposes the heart of the athlete to impact. Further, the body area below the center opening is unprotected, as the center opening is not covered by protective material. Additionally, the securing belts fastened across the center opening are uncovered, resulting in a possible xe2x80x9ccatch.xe2x80x9d Finally, the back of these water vests does not protect the lower spine area of the body from impact forces. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 4,668,202 contains a rear opening to adjust the vest to the particular body size that leaves the back exposed to impact forces.
It is therefore highly advantageous to provide a protective vest that can provide protection from a multi-section, one-piece garment to the whole torso. It is also highly advantageous for safety and health concerns to provide a protective vest that automatically adjusts the protective material to provide protection to the whole torso for varying body sizes. In addition, it is advantageous to provide a protective vest that allows for the removal and insertion of the protective padding relative to the wearer""s safety, comfort and athletic performance concerns. Additionally, it is advantageous to provide a protective vest that is quickly and easily donned and removed, thus encouraging its use and providing a significant degree of protection to the wearer. Further, it is advantageous to provide a protective vest with an opening off set from the medial line of a human torso to protect against impact to the heart during sporting activities. Still further, it is advantageous for safety reasons to provide a flap or overlap made of protective material to protect the region of the offset opening and cover the area of the vest about the offset opening. Still further yet, it is advantageous to provide a protective vest with a tapered design in the inferior-most region of the posterior portion to protect the lower spine area of the boy from impact, yet permit unhindered movement of the legs. Finally, it is advantageous to provide a protective vest that permits unhindered movement of the arms and neck of the athlete wearing the vest. The present invention provides these and other advantages as is hereinafter explained.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of our invention to provide a multi-section, one-piece garment with multi-layered protective padding encasing the whole human torso that automatically adjusts the multi-layered protective padding for varying body sizes, allows for removal and insertion of the protective padding for safety, comfort and athletic performance concerns, has a tapered design in the inferior-most region of the posterior portion, an offset opening and a flap or overlap for health and safety purposes.
It is a further object of our invention to provide a multi-section, one-piece garment with multi-layered protective padding encasing the whole human torso that automatically adjusts the multi-layered protective padding for varying body sizes, allows for removal and insertion of the protective padding for safety, comfort and athletic performance concerns, has a tapered design in the inferior-most region of the posterior portion and has an offset opening for health and safety purposes.
It is a still further object of our invention to provide a multi-section, one-piece garment with multi-layered protective padding encasing the anterior, shoulder and lateral regions of the human torso that has an offset opening and a posterior portion that allows for the cooling of the underlying torso for health and safety purposes.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,277, issued to Gillen et al., discloses a Protective Body Vest. The subject matter of this specification represents inventive subject matter originating from the same inventive entity as that of U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,277. Further, the subject matter of this specification details significant improvements over that subject mate found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,277.
According to our present invention we have provided a multi-section, one-piece garment for protecting against impact upon a human torso when worn by an athlete during sporting activities comprising a vest sized and shaped to be worn on the torso of an athlete having a multi-layered padding to protect the torso of the athlete. The vest is composed generally of a shoulder portion, an anterior portion, a pair of lateral portions, a posterior portion and an offset opening. The multi-layered padding has a first, or outer layer, a second, or middle layer and a third, or inner layer, wherein the first and the third layers sandwich, or are joined at a seam to provide a shell for, the second layer, the second layer being formed from a padding material for protecting the torso against impact.
The multi-layered padding in the shoulder portion is sized, shaped and constructed to provide protection against impact to the shoulder area and unhindered movement of the arms and neck. The shoulder portion further has the multi-layered padding being {fraction (1/64)} inch to 1xc2xd inch thick. The shoulder portion further has a pair of oversized apertures located at the lateral most regions for receiving the arms, each oversized aperture being sized and shaped to permit full movement of the arm.
The anterior portion of the vest has the multi-layered padding sized and shaped to provide protection against impact to the abdomen, heart, spleen, and chest areas and allow unhindered movement of the legs. The anterior portion of the vest further has the multi-layered padding being {fraction (1/64)} inch to 1xc2xd inch thick. The anterior portion further has the first and third layers of the multi-layered padding being formed from an air-permeable, moisture-wicking material to allow for the cooling of the underlying torso.
The offset opening is located offset from the medial line of a human torso to protect the heart against impact.
The pair of lateral portions of the vest are located inferior to the pair of oversized apertures wherein each lateral portion has the multi-layered padding sized, shaped and constructed to provide protection against impact to the lateral regions and unhindered movement of the legs. The pair of lateral portions of the vest further has the multi-layered padding being {fraction (1/64)} inch to 1xc2xd inch thick.
The posterior portion of the vest has the multi-layered padding sized and shaped to provide protection to the back and unhindered movement of the legs. The posterior portion of the vest further has the multi-layered padding being {fraction (1/64)} inch to 1xc2xd inch thick. The posterior portion further has the first and third layers of the multi-layered padding being formed from an air-permeable, moisture-wicking material to allow for the cooling of the underlying torso. The posterior portion may further comprise at least one holder or fastener for securing a removable strip of fabric or flag, such as a xe2x80x9cflag footballxe2x80x9d flag. The posterior portion may further be shaped in a tapered design at the inferior-most region to allow the unhindered movement of the legs and to provide protection for the lower spine area.
The present invention further comprises at least one slot or opening on the interior or exterior surface or the first or third layer of the multi-layered padding allowing for removal or insertion of the second, or middle layer of the multi-layered padding, or a layer or layers, or a portion or portions, or a section or sections thereof, from the vest.
The present invention further comprises an overlap or flap that extends or is located over the offset opening and sized and shaped to protect the region of the offset opening against impact and cover the area of the vest about the offset opening. The overlap or flap has the multi-layered padding {fraction (1/64)} inch to 1 inch thick. The overlap or flap extends from or is attached to the vest and fastened across the offset opening by a fastening device or devices. The flap may further contain at least one fastener attached on its exterior surface and correspondingly on the exposed exterior surface to secure the flap in an open position on the vest in order to facilitate the donning of the vest.
The present invention further comprises a fastening device or devices to engage the vest when fastened to secure the vest about the torso.
The lateral most edges of the second layer of the multi-layered padding in the anterior portion and/or posterior portion of the vest, or a layer thereof, extend over and/or overlap in the pair of lateral portions of the vest in order to maintain a second layer of the multi-layered padding between the first and third layers in the pair of lateral portions of the vest as the vest stretches horizontally to accommodate larger torso sizes.
The present invention may further have the second, or middle layer of the multi-layered padding being formed from polymeric cellular foam material for protecting against impact to the torso. The present invention may further have the first and/or second and/or third layers of the multi-layered padding, or a portion or portions, or a section or sections thereof, being comprised of multiple layers. The present invention may further have the multi-layered padding, or a layer or layers, or a portion or portions, or a section or sections thereof, being punctuated with a plurality of air holes to provide for the cooling of the underlying torso.
The present invention may further comprise at least one adjustable securing belt-like device such as a belt, strap or drawstring wrapped around the multi-layered padding, or partially thereof, on the first, or outer layer, the second, or middle layer, or a layer thereof, or the first and second layer alternately, of the vest to secure the vest about the torso, the adjustable securing belt-like device being inserted through a vertical loop or loops and/or a slot or slots and/or an opening or openings, the vertical loop or loops being attached to the vest and the slot or slots and/or opening or openings being located in the first, or outer layer and/or the third, or inner layer of the vest to hold the adjustable securing belt-like device around the torso, the adjustable securing belt-like device being fastened by a belt-like device fastener or fasteners.
The present invention may further have a protective pad or pads comprising rigid, semi-rigid or flexible material are affixed onto, and/or inserted into a pocket on, the interior and/or exterior surface of the first, or outer layer of the multi-layer padding, and/or the interior and/or exterior surface of the second, or middle layer of the multi-layered padding, or a layer thereof, and/or the interior and/or exterior surface of the third, or inner layer of the multi-layered padding of the second anterior side of the anterior portion and sized and shaped to provide protection from impact to the heart and/or spleen.
According to our present invention, we have provided a multi-section, one-piece garment for protecting against impact upon a human torso when worn by an athlete during sporting activities comprising a vest sized and shaped to be worn on a torso of an athlete having a multi-layered padding to protect the torso of the athlete. The vest further comprises a shoulder portion, an anterior portion, a pair of lateral portions, a posterior portion and an offset opening.
The multi-layered padding has a first, or outer layer, a second, or middle layer and a third, or inner layer wherein the first and the third layers sandwich, or are joined at a seam to provide a shell for, the second layer, the second layer being formed from a padding material.
The offset opening is off set from the medial line of a human torso to protect the heart against impact.
The present invention further comprises an overlap or flap that extends or is located over the offset opening and sized and shaped to protect the region of the offset opening against impact and cover the area of the vest about the offset opening. The overlap or flap extends from or is attached to the vest and fastened across the offset opening by a fastening device or devices to secure the vest on the torso.
In the shoulder portion the multi-layered padding is sized and shaped to protect the shoulder area and permit unhindered movement of the arms and neck. The shoulder portion further has a pair of oversized aperture located at the lateral most regions for receiving the arms, each oversized aperture being sized and shaped to permit fill movement of the arm.
The anterior portion is sized and shaped to provide protection to the chest, heart, spleen and abdomen regions and allow unhindered movement of the legs.
The pair of lateral portions, located inferior to the pair of oversized aperture are sized and shaped to provide protection to the lateral regions of the torso and allow unhindered movement of the legs.
In the posterior portion the multi-layered padding is sized and shaped to provide protection against impact to the back and unhindered movement of the legs.
In another embodiment which, save for the omission of the flap or overlap is virtually identical to the preferred embodiment, we have provided a multi-section, one-piece garment for protecting against impact upon a human torso when worn by an athlete during sporting activities comprising a vest sized and shaped to be worn on a torso of an athlete having multi-layered padding to protect the torso of the athlete. The vest further comprises a shoulder portion, an anterior portion, a pair of lateral portions, a posterior portion and an offset opening. The multi-layered padding has a first, or outer layer, a second, or middle layer and a third, or inner layer wherein the first and the third layers sandwich, or are joined at a seam to provide a shell for, the second layer, the second layer being formed from a padding material.
The shoulder portion has a pair of oversized apertures located at the lateral most regions for receiving the arms, each oversized aperture being sized and shaped to permit full movement of the arm.
The offset opening is off set from the medial line of a human torso to protect the heart against impact.
The present invention further comprises a fastening device to engage the vest when fastened to secure the vest about the torso.
The posterior portion of the vest may further be shaped in a tapered design at the inferior-most region to allow unhindered movement of the legs and provide protection to the lower spine area.
The posterior portion may further have a strap fastener in the interior-most region therein to connect to a strap fastener on the inferior-most region of the anterior portion of the vest by a strap, therein to engage the posterior portion of the vest to the anterior portion to achieve a more secure, more contoured fit.
In another embodiment of the vest which, in its two formsxe2x80x94with and without the flap or overlapxe2x80x94is virtually identical to each of the earlier embodiments save for the omission of protective padding from the posterior portion, we have provided a multi-section, one-piece garment for protecting against impact upon a human torso when worn by an athlete during sporting activities comprising a vest sized and shaped to be worn on a torso of an athlete including an anterior portion, a posterior portion, a pair of lateral portions, a shoulder portion and an offset opening, the vest having a multi-layered padding in the anterior portion, the shoulder portion and the pair of lateral portions, the posterior portion of the vest being comprised of material that allows for the cooling of the underlying torso. The multi-layered padding has a first, or outer layer, a second, or middle layer and a third, or inner layer wherein the first layer and the third layer sandwich, or are joined at a seam to provide a shell for, the second layer, the second layer being formed from a padding material.
The offset opening is off set from the medial line of a human torso to protect the heart against impact.
The present invention further comprises a fastening device or devices to engage the vest when fastened to secure the vest about the torso.
The present invention may further comprise an overlap or flap that extends or is located over the offset opening and sized and shaped to protect the region of the offset opening against impact and cover the area of the vest about the offset opening. The overlap or flap extends from or is attached to the vest and fastened across the offset opening by a fastening device or devices to secure the vest on the torso.
Each of the embodiments of the invention described above can, with the following slight modifications, be worn by a mature female athlete: incorporating a convex configuration in the superior region of the anterior portion, and in the superior region of the flap or overlap for those embodiments that include the flap or overlap, for receiving the female breasts and incorporating a concave configuration in the inferior-most regions of the pair of lateral portions for receiving the female hips.
Other objects of our invention, as well as particular features, elements, and advantages thereof will be elucidated in, or apparent from, the following description and the accompanying drawing figures.